Carbonaceous materials are oxidized when suspended in an electrolyte containing a reversible or quasireversible electrocatalyst and a homogeneous cocatalyst. The electrocatalyst is regenerated in an electrochemical cell through which a direct current is passed. The reduced electrocatalyst is reoxidized at the anode.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,893 concerns electrolyzing cations at a cathode of an electrolytic cell, wherein anolyte contains ferrous ion as a reducing agent. The electrolysis is conducted while the anolyte is agitated or while the anode moves with respect to the anolyte, providing relative motion between the anode and the anolyte, promoting contact of the anode with the ferrous ion despite their mutual electrostatic repulsion. A static relationship between the cathode and the catholyte is required. The concentration of the ferrous ion is in the range from 0.5 to 10 grams per liter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,288 relates to electrochemical gasification of carbonaceous material by anodic oxidation in an aqueous acidic electrolyte to produce oxides of carbon at the anode and hydrogen at the cathode of an electrolytic cell using an iron catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,363 provides for electrochemical gasification of carbonaceous materials by anodic oxidation, producing oxides of carbon at the anode and hydrogen or metallic elements at the cathode of an electrolytic cell. Carbonaceous materials may also be hydrogenated at the cathode by electrochemical reactions during which carbonaceous material may also be anodically reacted within the anode compartment of an electrolytic cell. Typical examples of metals produced at the cathode include chromium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, indium, and tellurium.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,608, hydrogen is produced from an electrolytic cell system by oxidizing a biomass product using a process of depolarizing the anode of an aqueous electrolytic cell. Particular catalyst systems are not disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,710 presents an electrochemical method and associated apparatus for gasification of carbonaceous materials to carbon dioxide with the attendant formation of fuels or high-energy intermediates, such as hydrogen or light hydrocarbons, and production of electric power. No particular catalyst systems are disclosed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,569, an improved catalytic anode of a ternary platinum group reduced metal oxide is used alone or in combination with platinum group metals and/or platinum group metal oxides or mixtures having at least one valve-metal component, such as titanium, hafnium, zirconium, niobium, tantalum, and tungsten, in a process for electrolytically generating oxygen. The invention of U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,824 is an improvement on the same method. In these two patents, the catalysts are in the electrodes, and thus are not available in solution for homogenous oxidation of any dissolved organics. Oxidation of organic materials using catalytic electrodes is not shown or suggested.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,755 concerns reacting an ash-containing carbonaceous material, optionally an organic waste material, with a halogen, to form a halogen acid, and then decomposing the halogen acid to halogen (recycled) and hydrogen. The halogen acid is preferably decomposed electrolytically if this step of the reaction takes place as a separate step from the initial reaction of the ash-containing carbonaceous material and halogen.